Dissent
TomPaine.com's newest Op-Ad in the NYTimes is on the patriotism of dissention. This 4th of July I wasn't flying a flag or firing of fireworks. I don't support the actions of my country or Bush's so-called war. It may be doing a lot of good for the Republicans and the fascist society Ashcroft wants to build, but it's not helping the masses. Somewhere along the way the conservatives hi-jacked the flag and made it in a symbol of supporting war. Everywhere I look, I see people blindly following the Bush agenda and flying the flags and ignoring the crimes being commited by the administration the Supreme Court elected for us. I don't want to be one of those people, but that doesn't mean I'm not patriotic.

I believe in the ideal of the United States. When the country was started, our founding fathers wanted to build a society where a person's rights were defined and protected. They were trying to make a society where "all men were created equal." Over the years, we have progressed quite a bit towards realizing that goal. We abolished slavery. Women earned the right to vote. (I can't say they were "given" the right. They had to fight for it.) The Civil Rights movement fought to make sure everyone got equality. However, we still have a way to go and currently the administration has been taking leaps and strides backwards, passing legislation that takes away people's rights and disguising them in patriotic names such as the Patriot Act. No, I didn't fly the flag and I did't feel much pride in my country, but that doesn't mean I'm not a patriot.